The Third Thing
by Event Horizon-Argus Black
Summary: Unearthing L's quirks. Written from Light's POV. 1 swear, but no spoilers past episode 17. One of the first things Light found out about L was that his closet was filled with nothing but white long sleeved shirts... The second thing was...


Disclaimer: Death Note is not mine.

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**The Third Thing**

One of the first things Light found out about L after he'd self-sacrificingly handcuffed them together was that his closet was filled with nothing but white long sleeved shirts. No blues, no stripes, just white.

The second thing he found out was that L had the most tremendous collection of matchbooks. Light poked fun at him for collecting such an odd item, and in such vast and disturbing quantities. Did he stay in so many hotels that he'd had opportunity to amass boxes and boxes of them? And why categorized alphabetically? L did not snipe back at him with his neutrally disdainful voice. He shifted his eyes to his feet and quickly changed the subject back to the Kira case.

The third thing Light found out was that L could read music. Stuffed between the pages of books and stacked in piles on top of his desk, were scads of sheet music. The edges of the pages were worn, not crisp. Pencil smudges circled the occasional measure. Creases had been made in the sheets but lovingly smoothed out.  
"I didn't know you could read music?" Light spoke, keen interest brushing against his normally aloof voice. L didn't stare at his feet, didn't grow awkwardly quiet. He was more engaged than usual, his black eyes alight.  
"Mmm, yes. What's so surprising about that?" Light thought for a minute before answering.  
"I'm not sure, I just never pictured you an an appreciator of the arts? You're too..." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking for the right word that would neither upset or flatter the odd genius. "...too numbers-driven."  
"But Yagami-kun, music is all about numbers. Under all the spontaneity is nothing but math." Light frowned at his cold assessment. That was just- too rigid, too inhuman. The pages, through their wear, showed someone pouring over them attentively, continuously. Enthralled?  
"You can't expect me to believe that you only enjoy music on a scientific level." He cocked his head to one side, fixing L with a incredulous look. "Do you really think so little of me, Ryuuzaki? Come on, not even the world's greatest detective can pretend that music doesn't appeal to some human part of you."

L just stared at him, unblinkingly. Daring Light to blink.  
"I don't think you understand me at all, Yagami-kun." Light's eyes narrowed dangerously.  
"Well, then, prove me wrong. Play one of these. You must have a stack of CDs at least as large as your matchbook collection with all these pages lying around.  
"CDs?" L blinked slowly, vapid emptiness filling his pupils. Light just wanted to pull his own hair out. There was no figuring him out! One minute acting like a genius bipedal computer, the next like some lobotomized freak.  
"Yes, CDs. They're flat and circular and you play music from them." No response. Light growled deep in his throat. "Then how do you listen to music if you don't have any CDs?!"  
"I don't listen, Yagami-kun. I play."

The hunched form swiftly turned, dragging Light behind, his expression caught somewhere between fuming and puzzled. L turned back to the closet with its many, many white shirts and reached between stacked and folded jeans to pull out a conspicuously large wooden box. How had Light missed that while laughing at his fashion sense? The box had been right at Light's eye level, staring him in the face with its perplexing presence, but somehow he'd overlooked it. L crouched on the floor in his standard manner, opening the little latches on the box slowly, with practiced reverence. Inside was a polished violin, no wear showing on the dark finish, no scuffs or scratches. L delicately picked it up and tucked it under his jaw. He held the bow with just the thumb and index finger of his uncuffed left hand.  
L crouched, motionless, as if he was waiting for something.

"Can you _actually_ play?"  
"Mmm, yes. I just can't think of anything _to_ play." Light couldn't move without upsetting the detective's position. His eyes strained to read the titles of the sheets he'd scattered haphazardly on the desk.  
"Bach?"  
"Mmm, but which? I prefer Partita III, which would you like?" Light's eyebrows met, he was a bit out of his comfort zone. He listened to Mozart every once in a while to accentuate his intellectual capabilities when studying, but didn't obsess over it or make a habit to learn the names of the songs, not to mention knowing which ones were specifically written for violin. He certainly wasn't about to let L know that.  
"Sure, I like that one too." His reward was a slight smile on L's face at the recognition of a common preference and Light tried to hide the frustration on his face. What was L's game? He always had something up his sleeve, no action was taken without directly or indirectly effecting the Kira case. And he was still hung up on trying to prove Light's guilt even after his long and undue incarceration.  
Light hadn't forgiven him for that, even if it was his idea in the first place. He couldn't fathom forgiving him.

L's eyes slowly closed and his hand drew the bow over the strings gently. His mouth pursed, concentrating. The notes started out light and quick, a happy melody that didn't fit the air in the room or the tension between the two men. Light was stunned, silent. The melody took on a brisk but slightly melancholy air, the tone of the violin coloring the bright notes with shades of blue. The only evidence of effort was the slight twitching in L's shut lips, moving in time with his hand, mimicking the music. The melody repeated again and Light found himself caught in the wonderment of the moment. It seemed as if the world was holding its breath while the detective played, caught in a trance, wrapped in the complex web that his fingers were weaving. The notes were filled with joy and sadness simultaneously. It was like rays of sunlight poking through storm clouds, like finishing a race but coming in last. It was like meeting your best friend and watching them die.

The notes grew longer, lighter, softer. It seemed as if the strings were barely connecting. And then unexpectedly, the bow attacked, the music becoming louder, more demanding. L finished, with a long flourished note and a bit of vibrato. The silence smothered them until L opened his eyes and Light released the breath he didn't know he was holding.  
They stared at one another, daring their companion to start the conversation anew.  
"You can't tell me that was all math. That you didn't feel some emotion?" Light's voice was unconsciously quiet. L sat for a long moment, the thumb of his left hand at his lips in contemplation before putting his treasured instrument back in its case.  
"I guess I don't understand what you mean, Yagami-kun. It was formulaic. Standard beginning to set the melody, a bit of variation, quiet for a while, and then a bold ending. It's no more complex than a simple equation." He couldn't be serious? Light was witness to his reaction to the music, the way his lips quivered in time with the notes. He had his eyes shut in concentration and perhaps to keep the emotion from leaking out, from giving 'an edge' to Kira.

Because that was still how he saw Light, right? It was still a game of cat and mouse, and he couldn't show any weakness, right?  
"You're so full of bullshit." Light turned hastily back to the desk, annoyed, gathering the disheveled pages together and dropping them back on top of the desk. L was quiet, watching him. Fuming, Light chanced a glance at the hovering body behind him. God, he was really getting on his nerves.  
But L's face wasn't painted with deceit, wasn't calculating and cold. A small smile curled his lips and his eyes were lit with simple delight.  
"If you'd like, I'll play for you again sometime, Yagami-kun."

In that moment, Light could imagine L as a small child, happy sheerly for the sake of being happy, joy spreading through his features at the new gift of being able to create sound with his fingers. The innocent smile L presented took him aback. There was no malice in it, even if desperately hidden. There was only friendship, offered up tentatively, but honestly.

The fourth thing Light found out about L was that he was human.

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Notes: Yes, left-handed violins do exist. I'm assuming L is left-handed based on the anime, not sure if the manga said otherwise. Let me know if so, I'm not above re-writing this!


End file.
